Author's Note: You guys just want and want and want, don't you? Hehehe...I write as fast as I can you guys. Sheesh. Sorry this took so long but my internet connection was disabled for three days. Also, just a note on the X-5s. I've read the spoilers for the eps until the end of the season, but until I seem them myself, I don't know who's good and who's not, who lives and who doesn't...therefore, they're ALL working in my story. And I could have sworn during "Kidz" they listed an X-5 named Johnny, but I am the only one who heard, I guess. And I never heard of an X-5 named Ben until today. Oh well, I'll fit him in somehow. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program. Anywho, here's chapter eight for your viewing pleasure. I hope this makes you all happy. As always, the characters aren't mine and neither are the songs I use. Thanks to Callie and Evil Twin for being my kick-ass beta's. Peace. Out.
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"So let me get this straight," Zach said, looking suspiciously at Logan, who sat on a kitchen stool in the middle of the living room. "You and Max shared a dream and she told you that a nurse from the hospital was Lydecker's niece, who, along with Lydecker, has been keeping Max hostage somewhere," Zach indicated the expanse of Seattle, which could be seen through the large window, with his hand, indicating his disbelief.
Logan sighed, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's not the first time Max and I have shared a dream. I think it has to do with the transfusions she gave me six months after the shooting."
Zane, a closet scientist, nodded, "It would make sense with everything I've read about the recombinant DNA they pumped us full of. If we were to chare blood in the field, it would theoretically draw us closer, make us even more of a single unit, a team."
Jace, who had been in the city with Little Max since Max the First went into the hospital, looked at Zach and said to the assembly, which included Jondy, Tinga, Johnny, Bling, Original Cindy, Syl, Brin, and Krit. "Okay, so we go with what Logan says then. This Abby chick has been playing both sides and is in bed with the enemy."
"So what the hell are ya'll waiting for?" Cindy asked exasperatedly. "Whack the bitch and find my boo and Lil Boo."
"It's not that simple," Logan told her kindly.
Zach sighed, "Fine, whatever. Let's go with the theory that you and Max really did commune on the dreamscape, as you called it." The CO's voice was not without its share of sarcasm. "What do you suggest we do about it?"
Tinga stepped forward, "We need to find Nurse Hatchet. Logan hacked into the hospital employee database and found out where she's listed as living. Lydecker has already seen you and Jace, and he could have described you two to her. We are gonna run on the assumption that she encountered Brin when they recaptured her. That means one of us Lydecker and Abby have never seen-Jondy, Johnny, Zane, Syl, or Krit-is going to have to go with Logan to talk to her."
"Why Logan?" Bling asked.
"She knows me," Logan informed him. "She won't be as suspicious of me as she will of someone she doesn't know."
"In the meantime," Brin said, having worked out a possible plan with Tinga on the way back to Foggle Towers. "Some of us are gonna do recon. Talk to her co-workers; find out about her hangouts; who she associated with, what she liked to do to unwind. We need to find out if she ever mentioned an uncle or working on a military base."
"We can do that," Cindy said, looking at Bling, who nodded in agreement.
"I'll go too," said Jace. "Johnny and Tinga should as well, to make things go faster."
Zach crossed his arms over his chest. He was CO. He was supposed to be making plans. "Okay, fine, now that you've all delegated responsibility to yourselves, what the hell do you want me to do?"
Tinga rolled her eyes, "If Jondy and Syl go with Logan, then that leaves Zane, you, and Brin free to do some research."
"Research!" Zach exclaimed. He was designed to be a field op, not some poor shmuck stuck behind a desk.
Logan held back his laughter, "I've already started a program on my computer looking for abandoned buildings close to area hospitals. They searched all the ones close to the hospital, but Lydecker had a car and could have taken Max anywhere within twenty-five square miles of the city. He wouldn't go much farther than that because of her health." A pang struck Logan's heart as he talked about his wife and their child she was carrying as though she were just another Eyes Only mission. He took a deep breath and continued, "You know the kind of places Lydecker thought were ideal for missions like this. Narrow the search parameters and see what you can find."
Zach huffed, "I've been searching those buildings since he nabbed her from the hospital. I would have come across them if they were there."
Original Cindy growled in frustration and exclaimed, "Look, shorty, I know you've got a case of testosterone poisoning that's probably got something to do with those mutha-friggin genes the feds shot you up with. But could you please put your penis envy on the shelf, suck it up, and just work with these people so we can get my boos back?"
The assembled tried not to snicker. Some had widened eyes, having rarely seen anyone other than Max stand up to Zach like that. Logan bowed his head to hide his grin. Tinga and Jace crossed their arms and glared at Zach, daring him not to help. Zane, Krit and Johnny exchanged bemused glances, while Bling backed away from Original Cindy, fearful she was going to explode in her rage.
Zach emitted a noise that could only be described as a feral growl, sighed heavily, and wordlessly nodded his head in resigned agreement. "Everyone meet back here at nineteen hundred hours for a debrief."
"Whatever," Cindy muttered, grabbing Bling's hand. "Let's move, homeboy." Jace, Johnny, and Tinga followed them out of Logan's apartment, discussing who would go where. Jondy and Syl approached Logan. Jondy smiled encouragingly and held out her hand to her brother-in-law, which is how most of the X-5s thought of Logan.
"You ready?" she asked warmly. He smiled back at her and got off his stool. He watched as Zach brushed past him and headed for the computer room. Brin paused and touched Logan's arm, "We'll have her back by tonight, I promise you Logan."
"Thanks," he replied, and allowed Jondy and Syl to lead him out the door. When they arrived at Abby's apartment, after the transgenics determined that no one was inside, Logan entered and the three began hunting around. They discovered that Abby was a fan of 1970s rock music, an avid horror novel fan, a collector of stamps, and an animal lover, judging by the stacks of animal related literature, stuffed animals, and pictures of safaris. What they did not discover, however, was any evidence of where she and Lydecker might be keeping Max.
To their disgust, they saw pictures around the apartment of Abby as she grew, with Uncle Don by her side every step of the way; high school graduation, undergrad diploma ceremony, nursing school, a day on the base. If they did not know the monster Lydecker truly was, they might have thought it was sweet that the orphaned girl had someone to take care of her. Too bad that someone was a sadistic military freak who had twisted her mind.
Jondy pressed the play button on the answering machine, only for them to all be disappointed when it reported, "You have no new messages. You have no saved messages."
Syl sighed, "Kills that idea."
Jondy turned to Logan, "Now what?"
Logan shrugged dejectedly, the air deflating out of him. He wanted to pick something up and hurl it at the bookcase in frustration. He had been so sure they would find something out about Abby during the trek to and through her apartment. Now that they had found nothing, he was losing some of the hope he had held that they would find Max and their child in time. He knew how terrifying it would be if Max went into labor in captivity. The chances that something would go wrong with either her or the baby were extremely high. Logan had been trying to ignore that possibility for a week, convinced they would be found. As each day passed and they were no closer to finding where Lydecker was keeping Max, Logan grew increasingly dejected. He picked up a glass paperweight, prepared to bounce it off the nearest wall. Jondy gasped and prepared to intercept the glass baseball. Suddenly, something caught Logan's eye.
As Jondy and Syl watched in silence, Logan dropped the paperweight back on the desk and crossed to the bookshelf. He took a large hard cover book off the shelf, and stared at the cover for several minutes. His in-laws exchanged worried glances and edged closer to him. "Logan?" Syl ventured cautiously, wondering if the altruistic man who stood before them had gone off his rocker.
Logan looked up at them and laughed outright. "I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner," he mumbled.
"Think of what, Logan?" Jondy asked.
Logan smiled and showed them the cover of the book. AN ANIMAL LOVER'S GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICA.
"I don't get it," Syl muttered to Jondy, who, for her part, could merely shrug in response. Logan pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. Zach picked up.
"Miracle Boy, I still have an hour and fifteen minutes before I have to make my report. What in hell are you calling for?" Zach asked, his furious typing echoing through the phone connection.
"Hello to you too," Logan mumbled. "I just had a thought."
"So you want me to get it noted by a republic?" Zach asked snidely.
"Again with the Manticore wit," Logan retorted, used to the banter. "Listen, I think I might have figured out a way to track Max. I need you to make a conference call between you, myself, and my friend Sebastian. His number is in the database." Logan paused, grinning mischievously, "You do know how to do that, don't you soldier boy?"
Jondy and Syl exchanged amused glances.
"You're funny, Rich Boy, real funny," Zach muttered. "Hang on." Within the minute, he had conferenced himself, Logan and Sebastian.
"Logan?" Came the automated voice, something that took Zach by surprise.
"Yeah Seb, I need your help," Logan said into his phone, sitting on Abby's couch.
"What can I do?" Sebastian asked. "Max has been kidnapped. Lydecker took her right from the hospital."
"Did she have the baby?" Sebastian asked. He had known Max and Logan were pregnant, but had been out of the country for several weeks at a scientific conference. He had only recently gotten back to Seattle.
"No," Logan said, the relief evident in his voice. "But she had some bad seizures and ended up in a coma. Lydecker took her and he's been hiding her for the past week. We need to find her, fast."
"Of course," the quadriplegic genius agreed. "How can I help?"
"I just had a thought," Logan said, eyes twinkling. "Max still has a tiny bit of that neuro-chip from the Reds in her, right?"
"Yes."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Zach chimed in. "What the hell is a Red?"
"Who's that?" Sebastian asked.
"The brother I keep telling you about," Logan replied. "Zach, the Reds were a group of South African ex-cons who were turned into supersoldiers by implanting a neuro-chip into the brain stem. Their mission was to find the X-5s to steal Manticore technology because they were having neurological problems of their own. They kidnapped Original Cindy to get to Max and Max decided she would have a better chance of going up against them if she were playing on their turf. She still has part of the chip in her."
"Now I get it," Syl whispered to Jondy, referring to Logan's strange behavior moments earlier.
Zach sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking at Brin and Zane tiredly. He had put the call on speaker for them all to hear. "Okay, fine, she's part tin man. How is that going to help us find her?"
Thankfully, Sebastian had caught on, "If I'm given a small enough area to search, I can trace the signature of the chip in Max's system. It should lead us right to her location."
"Zach," Logan asked. "Did you guys narrow the search parameters at all?" "
We've narrowed it down to an area of fifteen square miles," Brin informed him.
"It might take a bit longer," Sebastian said. "But I should still be able to track it. Logan, I'm tapping into your system and download the specs now."
"How soon can you get us a location?" Zach asked before Logan had the chance to.
"An hour," Sebastian replied.
"Thanks my friend," Logan said gratefully. "Zach, Jondy, Syl, and I are coming back. Let the others stay out, just in case Abby manages to escape when we close in on her and good old Uncle Deck."
"Got it," Zach said, and hung up his end.
An hour later, the two recon teams returned to Logan's penthouse. The X-5s assembled in one room, quietly discussing strategy, while Bling helped Logan make a light meal and Cindy washed dishes from meals that had eaten earlier. Logan had been cooking for about an hour. It calmed him, soothed him, and took his mind off the fact that in a fairly short time, he and his genetically enhanced in-laws would be launching a full scale rescue mission to recover his pregnant, nearly full term, genetically enhanced wife. He had looked at the date on his watch and realized Max was nearly eight and a half months along. Feasibly, the baby could come at any time. The thought struck fear in him. They had to move. Fast.
Just then, the phone in Logan's office rang. He abandoned the meal and raced into the computer room, where Zach and the others had gathered. Logan hit the speaker button and said, "Sebastian, talk to me buddy. What have you got?"
"I'm uploading it to your system now," Sebastian told them. "I even took the liberty of downloading the blueprints for the building. I figured it would save you time."
Logan smiled from ear to ear, "Sebastian, my friend, you have out done yourself."
"You can repay me by sending me a cigar and telling your daughter all about her Uncle Sebastian," his friend said good-naturedly.
Logan looked around the room, "Our child, boy or girl, is not going to be at a loss for aunt's and uncles, that's for damn sure." He heard several of them chuckle. "Thanks Seb. Bye."
Zach hit a button and the blueprints began to print out. He looked at everyone gathered around and new each person was going to want to be a part of the mission. However, he had to wonder if it really took twelve people to take out a crippled psychopath and his niece. Using years of experience, he began to formulate a plan in his head.
"By the looks of things," he said, examining Sebastian's Intel. "It's just Lydecker and his niece in this warehouse on the outskirts of the city near the waterfront they're holed up in."
Johnny snorted, "No problem. We got in, take them out, grab Max, head back here. Five, ten minutes, tops."
"Not so fast," Logan said, looking over Zach's shoulder. "It looks like Lydecker planned for us to find them eventually. He has the place heavily booby-trapped with explosives. According to Seb's data, Max is near the back, but the front and middle are totally rigged."
Original Cindy sighed, "Now what?"
Johnny grinned, "Still, not a total problem. I was the bomb expert, remember?" He clicked for the information to print out and examined it. "I'd have to see the stuff close up, but I think I might be able to get all the equipment I need to disarm it around here."
Zach nodded, "Good, take Krit and Brin with you. Meet us at the location in forty-five minutes."
The three transgenic adults nodded and left the pent house.
"What next?" Bling asked, more than willing to help.
Zach thought, "After the bombs, that just leaves Abby and Lydecker. She's a nurse and he's a cripple."
"Whoa there, SuperBoo," Cindy said. "She's related to General Patton. What makes you think she ain't a kick ass like ya'll?"
Tinga looked at Zach, "She's got a point."
Cindy grinned self satisfactorily, "Thank you Shugga."
"We're gonna need a team for each, plus a team for Max, and someone has to drive the escape vehicle," Jace commented, perching herself on the edge of the desk.
"Aiight, children, Original Cindy volunteers for this gig." Max's friend smiled at Logan, who tossed her to keys to his Aztec.
"Fine," Zach said. "Jace, and Zane, take muscles with you and get the nurse." He indicated Bling with the "muscles" comment. Bling merely brooded, but said nothing. Zach continued, once again resuming his role as CO of group X-5. "Jondy, Syl, and Tinga will be assigned to Lydecker. I'll assist as necessary. Logan and I will be assigned to retrieving Max." He turned to Logan and asked, "I don't suppose you've got any Comm units, do you?"
Logan smiled, grateful Zach was swallowing his pride and allow Logan to rescue his own wife. "Of course I do. What Rich boy wouldn't?" He went to a closet in the hall and removed a shoebox full of Comm units. Emptying the box's content on the desk, he discovered that he only had six functional Comm units.
"Each team leader will get one, plus Cindy and Logan," Tinga said, before Zach could argue or give another option. Zach huffed, as was become par for the course, and nodded indignantly. Jace, Tinga, Zach, and Logan all put the units, which were similar to Logan's computer phone earpiece, in their ears and attached the battery transmitter packs to their waistbands. Bling helped Cindy get acclimated with hers, while everyone began finalizing plans. Syl took the Comm unit for Johnny, Krit, and Brin's team. They decided that Cindy, Logan, and Zach would ride in his Aztec. Tinga had a bike of her own, and would take Jondy. Bling would take Syl, Jace, and Zane in his SUV. They all retreated to the kitchen to fuel up before raiding Logan's weapons closet.
As they filed out the door, the X-5s in total game face, Logan thought to himself *Just a little longer Max, I promise*
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"So let me get this straight," Zach said, looking suspiciously at Logan, who sat on a kitchen stool in the middle of the living room. "You and Max shared a dream and she told you that a nurse from the hospital was Lydecker's niece, who, along with Lydecker, has been keeping Max hostage somewhere," Zach indicated the expanse of Seattle, which could be seen through the large window, with his hand, indicating his disbelief.
Logan sighed, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's not the first time Max and I have shared a dream. I think it has to do with the transfusions she gave me six months after the shooting."
Zane, a closet scientist, nodded, "It would make sense with everything I've read about the recombinant DNA they pumped us full of. If we were to chare blood in the field, it would theoretically draw us closer, make us even more of a single unit, a team."
Jace, who had been in the city with Little Max since Max the First went into the hospital, looked at Zach and said to the assembly, which included Jondy, Tinga, Johnny, Bling, Original Cindy, Syl, Brin, and Krit. "Okay, so we go with what Logan says then. This Abby chick has been playing both sides and is in bed with the enemy."
"So what the hell are ya'll waiting for?" Cindy asked exasperatedly. "Whack the bitch and find my boo and Lil Boo."
"It's not that simple," Logan told her kindly.
Zach sighed, "Fine, whatever. Let's go with the theory that you and Max really did commune on the dreamscape, as you called it." The CO's voice was not without its share of sarcasm. "What do you suggest we do about it?"
Tinga stepped forward, "We need to find Nurse Hatchet. Logan hacked into the hospital employee database and found out where she's listed as living. Lydecker has already seen you and Jace, and he could have described you two to her. We are gonna run on the assumption that she encountered Brin when they recaptured her. That means one of us Lydecker and Abby have never seen-Jondy, Johnny, Zane, Syl, or Krit-is going to have to go with Logan to talk to her."
"Why Logan?" Bling asked.
"She knows me," Logan informed him. "She won't be as suspicious of me as she will of someone she doesn't know."
"In the meantime," Brin said, having worked out a possible plan with Tinga on the way back to Foggle Towers. "Some of us are gonna do recon. Talk to her co-workers; find out about her hangouts; who she associated with, what she liked to do to unwind. We need to find out if she ever mentioned an uncle or working on a military base."
"We can do that," Cindy said, looking at Bling, who nodded in agreement.
"I'll go too," said Jace. "Johnny and Tinga should as well, to make things go faster."
Zach crossed his arms over his chest. He was CO. He was supposed to be making plans. "Okay, fine, now that you've all delegated responsibility to yourselves, what the hell do you want me to do?"
Tinga rolled her eyes, "If Jondy and Syl go with Logan, then that leaves Zane, you, and Brin free to do some research."
"Research!" Zach exclaimed. He was designed to be a field op, not some poor shmuck stuck behind a desk.
Logan held back his laughter, "I've already started a program on my computer looking for abandoned buildings close to area hospitals. They searched all the ones close to the hospital, but Lydecker had a car and could have taken Max anywhere within twenty-five square miles of the city. He wouldn't go much farther than that because of her health." A pang struck Logan's heart as he talked about his wife and their child she was carrying as though she were just another Eyes Only mission. He took a deep breath and continued, "You know the kind of places Lydecker thought were ideal for missions like this. Narrow the search parameters and see what you can find."
Zach huffed, "I've been searching those buildings since he nabbed her from the hospital. I would have come across them if they were there."
Original Cindy growled in frustration and exclaimed, "Look, shorty, I know you've got a case of testosterone poisoning that's probably got something to do with those mutha-friggin genes the feds shot you up with. But could you please put your penis envy on the shelf, suck it up, and just work with these people so we can get my boos back?"
The assembled tried not to snicker. Some had widened eyes, having rarely seen anyone other than Max stand up to Zach like that. Logan bowed his head to hide his grin. Tinga and Jace crossed their arms and glared at Zach, daring him not to help. Zane, Krit and Johnny exchanged bemused glances, while Bling backed away from Original Cindy, fearful she was going to explode in her rage.
Zach emitted a noise that could only be described as a feral growl, sighed heavily, and wordlessly nodded his head in resigned agreement. "Everyone meet back here at nineteen hundred hours for a debrief."
"Whatever," Cindy muttered, grabbing Bling's hand. "Let's move, homeboy." Jace, Johnny, and Tinga followed them out of Logan's apartment, discussing who would go where. Jondy and Syl approached Logan. Jondy smiled encouragingly and held out her hand to her brother-in-law, which is how most of the X-5s thought of Logan.
"You ready?" she asked warmly. He smiled back at her and got off his stool. He watched as Zach brushed past him and headed for the computer room. Brin paused and touched Logan's arm, "We'll have her back by tonight, I promise you Logan."
"Thanks," he replied, and allowed Jondy and Syl to lead him out the door. When they arrived at Abby's apartment, after the transgenics determined that no one was inside, Logan entered and the three began hunting around. They discovered that Abby was a fan of 1970s rock music, an avid horror novel fan, a collector of stamps, and an animal lover, judging by the stacks of animal related literature, stuffed animals, and pictures of safaris. What they did not discover, however, was any evidence of where she and Lydecker might be keeping Max.
To their disgust, they saw pictures around the apartment of Abby as she grew, with Uncle Don by her side every step of the way; high school graduation, undergrad diploma ceremony, nursing school, a day on the base. If they did not know the monster Lydecker truly was, they might have thought it was sweet that the orphaned girl had someone to take care of her. Too bad that someone was a sadistic military freak who had twisted her mind.
Jondy pressed the play button on the answering machine, only for them to all be disappointed when it reported, "You have no new messages. You have no saved messages."
Syl sighed, "Kills that idea."
Jondy turned to Logan, "Now what?"
Logan shrugged dejectedly, the air deflating out of him. He wanted to pick something up and hurl it at the bookcase in frustration. He had been so sure they would find something out about Abby during the trek to and through her apartment. Now that they had found nothing, he was losing some of the hope he had held that they would find Max and their child in time. He knew how terrifying it would be if Max went into labor in captivity. The chances that something would go wrong with either her or the baby were extremely high. Logan had been trying to ignore that possibility for a week, convinced they would be found. As each day passed and they were no closer to finding where Lydecker was keeping Max, Logan grew increasingly dejected. He picked up a glass paperweight, prepared to bounce it off the nearest wall. Jondy gasped and prepared to intercept the glass baseball. Suddenly, something caught Logan's eye.
As Jondy and Syl watched in silence, Logan dropped the paperweight back on the desk and crossed to the bookshelf. He took a large hard cover book off the shelf, and stared at the cover for several minutes. His in-laws exchanged worried glances and edged closer to him. "Logan?" Syl ventured cautiously, wondering if the altruistic man who stood before them had gone off his rocker.
Logan looked up at them and laughed outright. "I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner," he mumbled.
"Think of what, Logan?" Jondy asked.
Logan smiled and showed them the cover of the book. AN ANIMAL LOVER'S GUIDE TO SOUTH AFRICA.
"I don't get it," Syl muttered to Jondy, who, for her part, could merely shrug in response. Logan pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. Zach picked up.
"Miracle Boy, I still have an hour and fifteen minutes before I have to make my report. What in hell are you calling for?" Zach asked, his furious typing echoing through the phone connection.
"Hello to you too," Logan mumbled. "I just had a thought."
"So you want me to get it noted by a republic?" Zach asked snidely.
"Again with the Manticore wit," Logan retorted, used to the banter. "Listen, I think I might have figured out a way to track Max. I need you to make a conference call between you, myself, and my friend Sebastian. His number is in the database." Logan paused, grinning mischievously, "You do know how to do that, don't you soldier boy?"
Jondy and Syl exchanged amused glances.
"You're funny, Rich Boy, real funny," Zach muttered. "Hang on." Within the minute, he had conferenced himself, Logan and Sebastian.
"Logan?" Came the automated voice, something that took Zach by surprise.
"Yeah Seb, I need your help," Logan said into his phone, sitting on Abby's couch.
"What can I do?" Sebastian asked. "Max has been kidnapped. Lydecker took her right from the hospital."
"Did she have the baby?" Sebastian asked. He had known Max and Logan were pregnant, but had been out of the country for several weeks at a scientific conference. He had only recently gotten back to Seattle.
"No," Logan said, the relief evident in his voice. "But she had some bad seizures and ended up in a coma. Lydecker took her and he's been hiding her for the past week. We need to find her, fast."
"Of course," the quadriplegic genius agreed. "How can I help?"
"I just had a thought," Logan said, eyes twinkling. "Max still has a tiny bit of that neuro-chip from the Reds in her, right?"
"Yes."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Zach chimed in. "What the hell is a Red?"
"Who's that?" Sebastian asked.
"The brother I keep telling you about," Logan replied. "Zach, the Reds were a group of South African ex-cons who were turned into supersoldiers by implanting a neuro-chip into the brain stem. Their mission was to find the X-5s to steal Manticore technology because they were having neurological problems of their own. They kidnapped Original Cindy to get to Max and Max decided she would have a better chance of going up against them if she were playing on their turf. She still has part of the chip in her."
"Now I get it," Syl whispered to Jondy, referring to Logan's strange behavior moments earlier.
Zach sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking at Brin and Zane tiredly. He had put the call on speaker for them all to hear. "Okay, fine, she's part tin man. How is that going to help us find her?"
Thankfully, Sebastian had caught on, "If I'm given a small enough area to search, I can trace the signature of the chip in Max's system. It should lead us right to her location."
"Zach," Logan asked. "Did you guys narrow the search parameters at all?" "
We've narrowed it down to an area of fifteen square miles," Brin informed him.
"It might take a bit longer," Sebastian said. "But I should still be able to track it. Logan, I'm tapping into your system and download the specs now."
"How soon can you get us a location?" Zach asked before Logan had the chance to.
"An hour," Sebastian replied.
"Thanks my friend," Logan said gratefully. "Zach, Jondy, Syl, and I are coming back. Let the others stay out, just in case Abby manages to escape when we close in on her and good old Uncle Deck."
"Got it," Zach said, and hung up his end.
An hour later, the two recon teams returned to Logan's penthouse. The X-5s assembled in one room, quietly discussing strategy, while Bling helped Logan make a light meal and Cindy washed dishes from meals that had eaten earlier. Logan had been cooking for about an hour. It calmed him, soothed him, and took his mind off the fact that in a fairly short time, he and his genetically enhanced in-laws would be launching a full scale rescue mission to recover his pregnant, nearly full term, genetically enhanced wife. He had looked at the date on his watch and realized Max was nearly eight and a half months along. Feasibly, the baby could come at any time. The thought struck fear in him. They had to move. Fast.
Just then, the phone in Logan's office rang. He abandoned the meal and raced into the computer room, where Zach and the others had gathered. Logan hit the speaker button and said, "Sebastian, talk to me buddy. What have you got?"
"I'm uploading it to your system now," Sebastian told them. "I even took the liberty of downloading the blueprints for the building. I figured it would save you time."
Logan smiled from ear to ear, "Sebastian, my friend, you have out done yourself."
"You can repay me by sending me a cigar and telling your daughter all about her Uncle Sebastian," his friend said good-naturedly.
Logan looked around the room, "Our child, boy or girl, is not going to be at a loss for aunt's and uncles, that's for damn sure." He heard several of them chuckle. "Thanks Seb. Bye."
Zach hit a button and the blueprints began to print out. He looked at everyone gathered around and new each person was going to want to be a part of the mission. However, he had to wonder if it really took twelve people to take out a crippled psychopath and his niece. Using years of experience, he began to formulate a plan in his head.
"By the looks of things," he said, examining Sebastian's Intel. "It's just Lydecker and his niece in this warehouse on the outskirts of the city near the waterfront they're holed up in."
Johnny snorted, "No problem. We got in, take them out, grab Max, head back here. Five, ten minutes, tops."
"Not so fast," Logan said, looking over Zach's shoulder. "It looks like Lydecker planned for us to find them eventually. He has the place heavily booby-trapped with explosives. According to Seb's data, Max is near the back, but the front and middle are totally rigged."
Original Cindy sighed, "Now what?"
Johnny grinned, "Still, not a total problem. I was the bomb expert, remember?" He clicked for the information to print out and examined it. "I'd have to see the stuff close up, but I think I might be able to get all the equipment I need to disarm it around here."
Zach nodded, "Good, take Krit and Brin with you. Meet us at the location in forty-five minutes."
The three transgenic adults nodded and left the pent house.
"What next?" Bling asked, more than willing to help.
Zach thought, "After the bombs, that just leaves Abby and Lydecker. She's a nurse and he's a cripple."
"Whoa there, SuperBoo," Cindy said. "She's related to General Patton. What makes you think she ain't a kick ass like ya'll?"
Tinga looked at Zach, "She's got a point."
Cindy grinned self satisfactorily, "Thank you Shugga."
"We're gonna need a team for each, plus a team for Max, and someone has to drive the escape vehicle," Jace commented, perching herself on the edge of the desk.
"Aiight, children, Original Cindy volunteers for this gig." Max's friend smiled at Logan, who tossed her to keys to his Aztec.
"Fine," Zach said. "Jace, and Zane, take muscles with you and get the nurse." He indicated Bling with the "muscles" comment. Bling merely brooded, but said nothing. Zach continued, once again resuming his role as CO of group X-5. "Jondy, Syl, and Tinga will be assigned to Lydecker. I'll assist as necessary. Logan and I will be assigned to retrieving Max." He turned to Logan and asked, "I don't suppose you've got any Comm units, do you?"
Logan smiled, grateful Zach was swallowing his pride and allow Logan to rescue his own wife. "Of course I do. What Rich boy wouldn't?" He went to a closet in the hall and removed a shoebox full of Comm units. Emptying the box's content on the desk, he discovered that he only had six functional Comm units.
"Each team leader will get one, plus Cindy and Logan," Tinga said, before Zach could argue or give another option. Zach huffed, as was become par for the course, and nodded indignantly. Jace, Tinga, Zach, and Logan all put the units, which were similar to Logan's computer phone earpiece, in their ears and attached the battery transmitter packs to their waistbands. Bling helped Cindy get acclimated with hers, while everyone began finalizing plans. Syl took the Comm unit for Johnny, Krit, and Brin's team. They decided that Cindy, Logan, and Zach would ride in his Aztec. Tinga had a bike of her own, and would take Jondy. Bling would take Syl, Jace, and Zane in his SUV. They all retreated to the kitchen to fuel up before raiding Logan's weapons closet.
As they filed out the door, the X-5s in total game face, Logan thought to himself *Just a little longer Max, I promise*